‘Constitutional anarchy’ in Bengal: Centre to SC while citing row with Mamata’s kin

New Delhi, Mar 29
The Centre on Friday alleged “constitutional anarchy” and a “complete breakdown of law and order” in West Bengal while citing an incident of the West Bengal Police “intimidating” airport customs officials who were trying to check the luggage of Rujira Naroola, the wife of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee. The incident was narrated to a bench of the Supreme Court during a hearing on the Saradha chit fund case. Banerjee is the nephew of TMC president and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The incident happened on the intervening night of March 15-16 after two passengers arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on a Thai Airways flight. The West Bengal Police allegedly intervened after customs officials held Naroola for carrying excess gold without a declaration. The airport customs has filed a complaint against Naroola, who in turn filed a complaint against unnamed officials for criminal conspiracy, wrongful restraint and assault or criminal force on woman etc.Abhishek Banerjee, meanwhile, claimed the charges were “false” and were intended to malign the image of his wife and the party. The Solicitor General said the incident was caught on CCTV camera. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, directed the Solicitor General to file an application relating to the incident.